Electric controller



R. R. DUNLGP.

ELECTRIC CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28. 19:6.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

M wnuzssh ATTORNEY R. R. DUNLOP.

ELECTRIC CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION men SEPT. 28, 19I6.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

a sums-sum 2.

y N M U A WITNESSES:

R. R. DUNLO'P. ELECTRIC CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28, I916.

1,348,397; Patented Aug. 3,1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

IINVENITIOR. WITNESSES: I fiwzy BY 2 g Q A TTORNEY.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT R. DUNLOP, OF COLUMBUS OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE JEFFREY MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, OIET- COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

ELECTRIC conrnonnnn.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, ROBERT.R. DUNLOP,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and the State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Controllers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The present inventionrelates to certain 'new anduseful im rovements in electric concars and the like. a

As commonly constructed the controlling apparatus of an electric locomotive comprises one or more rotatable cylinders hav-' ing' metallic segments adapted to contactwith stationary "contact brushes connected with the wiring of the locomotlve. These segments are so proportioned and arranged that the rotation of the cylinders will cause 4 the segments to contact with the brushes" in such manner that the wires of the locomotive will be connected into circuits through which the electric currents will flow to cause the rotation of thearmatures of the motors in the direction and at the speed desired.

Whenever such contacts are broken while the current is flowing throu h them an arc is produced, the intensity, 0 which iszproportional to the strength of the-current broken. To prevent the destruction ofithe contact segments and brushes by the arcs formed when heavy currents are broken,

magnetic blow out mechanism is rbvided-to extinguish these arcs. The incluslon of magnetic blowouts in a controller materially increases its overall dimensions, and often seriously crowds the s ace availablel-for the motor'man and for ot er operatlmechanism. To keep the controller wlthin the allowable dimensions resort has been had to the. expedient of providing an auxiliary, solenoid actuated, contact switch outside the controller, by which the source of electrical suppl shall be. connected. into or discon- "necte from the circuits oi-the motors, th'e contacts in thecontroller being usedlonly for varying the j resistance by which the speed is controlled and for governing the di rection of rotation of the armatures.

When such an auxiliary contact switch is used it must be opened before breaking'the I Specification of Letters Iatent.

several fi res.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

Application filed September 28, 1916. Serial-No. 122,709.

' connections between any of the contact segments of the controller and their. respective brushes if destructive arcing is to be avoided;

When the contact switch has been opened it should not be reclosed until afterthe con- .troller cylinder has been returned to its ofi position, otherwise there might be an excessive flow of current through the circuits of the motors.

It is the especial object of this invention to provide a master switch device, associated with the operating handle of a controller,

whereby a movement of the handle from the oil .positionwill cause the closing of an auxspecifications and illustrated in the accon panying drawings of which:,

Figure. 1 is a plan view of my improved m'a'sterswitch device, associated with the handle of a controller, and having part of the casing broken away to show' the in-' ternal parts.-

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the devices shown in Fig. 1. l

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken along the line 33 of Fig.1 showing also the connection with the controller.

- Fig. 4 is a section taken along the-line 4.4 of Fig. 1-.

The devices by whichI attain these objects are fully set forth in'- the following object of this invention to 1 Fig.5 is a diagram of the electrical circuits of a single motor locomotive'equi d h devlces of m invention.

Fig. 6 is a diagram of. the electric circuits. of a two-motor locomotive having a controller adapted to connect'the motors in series while starting the load ,and' in arallel after the train is under way :and which is equipped with the devices of'my invention.

' Like-numerals refer to similar parts the Y Referring" to the drawing the numeral 1 indicates the to plate of a casing having a bearin 2, in w ich isjourn'aled the spindle, 3 of t e comlmltating c linder of a loco'-' motive controller. Attac ed to the plate 1,

by suitable cap screws 4, is a casting 5 hav ing an upstanding circular flange 6 concentric with the spindle 3. \Vithin the flange 6 is a ring 7, composed of suitable insulating ,material, upon which is mounted a metallic contact ring 8 having a lug 9 b which it isconnected with the conductor of the locomotive wirin Fixed to the spindle 3, above the bearing 2, is a hub 10 from which the arm 11 extends radially. The hub 10 is expanded upward at 12 to form a pivot bearing for the handle H, which has a lateral expansion 13 and a depending flange 14, concentric with and overhanging the flange/6, to form a protecting casing for the operative arts of the device. A screw cap 15, threa ed to the upper part of the spindle 3, securesthe handle H in lace.

Attached to'the casing 13, is a b ock 16 of suitable insulatin material, to which is secured a metallic ock 1'1 having a contact spring 18 in engagement with the ring 8. Projecting from a cylindrical recess 19 in the block 17 is a plunger 20 adapted to limit longitudinal movement in, 0 position to ,the compression spring 21. radial arm 11 is an upstanding flange '22 adapted to engagement by the hook 23 which is pivotally connected to the casing 13. by the pin 24 in the depending brackets 25. The

book 23 is provided with an extension 26v which bears upon and slides over the surface of the flange 6. Formed on the upper edge of the flange ,6 is a 'cam 27,so posi tioned that when the controller cylinder is in its ofi position the extension 26 will be raised to lift the hook 23 out "of engagement with the flange 22 0f the radial'arm 11.

WVhen the controller'c linder is in the off position, if the handle .be' rotated toward the working positions the plunger 20 will contact with the radial arm .11 forming an electric connection froinf the conductor R through the controller casing to round. As the rotation of the handle continues'the spring 21 will be compressed until theend of the radial arm 11 is engaged by the lug 28 of the flange 14, when the arm and the controller cylinder with it will be rotated in the direction of the movement of the handle. As this rotation continues the extension 26 of the hook 23 will be moved awayfrom the cam 27 allowing the hook to fall to its lower position.- If new the movement of the handle H be. reversed the contact between the plunger 20 \and the arm 11 will be broken and at the same time the hook 23 will engage the flange 22, after which a reengagernent of the arm 11 with" the plunger 20 is impossible until the handle has been returned to the off position to disengage the hook 23. e.

In the diagram shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, A represents the armature and B the field coil of the motor of a single motor ormed on the,

locomotive which derives electric current from the trolley wire C through the trolley pole D. E is the reverse switch of the controller and need not be further described as it forms no part in the present invention.

F represents the commutating cylinder of ductor J extends from the trolley pole to the controller brush a, and the conductor K extends from the controller brush through the reverse switch and motor to ground. L denotes the rheostat which is connected with the brushes b, c, (l, e, and f. of the controller in the usual manner. dicates-an. auxiliary switch, connected in the conductor J, and actuated by the solenoid- N to make and break the main circuit of the locomotive. P indicates as an entirety the master switch which is included in the branch circuit R with the solenoid N to controlthe action of the switch M., The positi'on and construction of the master switch P. is such that, when the cylinder F is in its ofi' plosition 0, any movement of the handle will close the circuitlt to actuate the'solenoid N and close .the switch M to allow current to flow to the motor. The further movement of the .handle H brings the successivesegmentsj of the cylinder F in contact with their-respective brushes to cut out the resistance L step by step, in the usual manner, as the speed of the armature increases. A movement of the handle H from any of the operative positions inthe direction of the off position will open the master switch P, thereby de'e'ner izing the solenoid N and 0 en the switch M, cutting off all current rom the motor circuit, and thus effectually preventing the formation of arcs between the contact segments and brushes of the controller as the cylinder is turned to the off o'sition. If, while a consider able part 0 the resistance L is out out of the motor circuit and the armature A is at rest,

or its speed materiall reduced, the switch M should be reclose there would result an abnormal flow of current through the motor which would either damage the ap-' aratus or cause the opening of the circuit reaker at the power house. I prevent the occurence of .such conditions by the peculiar construction of the master switch P by which the reclosing of thecircuit R is pre switch of the controller and needs not be coils of the motors respectively. G is the trolley wire from which current is derived through the trolley pole D. E, is the reverse further described as it forms no part in the present invention. mutating cylinder of the controller, which is of a type common in the art, rotatable upon its longitudinal axis b means of the handle H. The conductor extends from the trolley pole to the controller brush a, and the conductor K extends from the con:

troller brush f through the reverse switch and motors to ground. 'Ldenotes the rheostat which is connected with the brushes which is so positioned that the contact spring 18 will break connection with the ring 8 causing the swit'chM to open before the brushes f and z' lose contact with their respective segments. The width of the gap 8 "8 is such that the spring 18 will restore the circuit through the solenoid N, after the brushes 9, h, and is have contacted with their respective segments on the controller cylinder. By this arrangement current is excluded from the controller and motor circuits while the connections ofv the motors are beingchanged from series to parallel, and restored thereto after thecom pletion of such change.

What I claim is- 1. In an electric controller, the combination with a rotatablecylinder, of a handle connected to rotate the cylinder and arranged for limited freedom of motion relative thereto, an'electric switch actuated by saidhandle and adapted to be closed by the free movement of the handle in one direction and to be opened by movement of the handle in the reverse direction before said cylinder is moved in either-direction, means to lock said switch open,-and meansopers. able at the limit [of reverse motion of said handle to release said-locking means.-

i :2. In an electric controller, the com'bina tion with a commutating electric switch, of .a handle connected to actuate said commutating switch and arranged; for limited freedom of motionrelative' thereto, asupple-,

mental electric switch actuated by said ,han

F represents the comopened by movement of the handle in the reverse direction before said commutating switch ismoved in either direction, means tolock said supplemental switch open, and means operable at the limit of reverse mo.

tion of the handle to release said locking means.

In an electric controller, the combinsl Y tion with a rotatable cylinder, of a handle connected to rotate the cylinder and arranged for limited freedom of motionrelative thereto, an electric switch earned by said handleand adapted to be closed by the free movement of the handle in one d1- rection and to be opened by the free movement of the handle in the reverse. direction before said cylinder is moved in either di rection, means to lock the switch open, and

means operable at the limit of reverse motion of said handle to releasesaid locking means.

7 4. In an electric controller, the combination with a commutating electric switch, of.

a handle connected to actuate said commutating switch and arranged for limited free- .dom of motion relative thereto, a'sup emental electric switch,actuated by the rec movement of said' handle and adapted to i be closed by movement of the handle in a direction to close said commutating switch and to be opened by movement of said handle in the reverse direction before said commutating switch is moved in either direc-- tion, means to lock said supplemental switch open, and meansoperable at the limit of reverse motion of said handle torelease said lockingmeans. Y 4

5. In an electric controller, the combination of an electrically actuated main break switch and a manually actuated resistance controlling switch, a handle connected to actuate said resistance controlling switch and arranged for limited freedom of moioa tion relative thereto, a supplemental switch I actuated by the free movement of said handle and adapted to close the actuating circuit of the electrically actuatedswitch'when said handle is moved in a direction to close theresistance controlling switch, means to open said supplemental switch when said handle is moved in the reverse direction before .said resistance controlling switch is moved in eiitherdirection, means to lock said switchl bpengandmeans operable at the cylinder, a handle connected to rotate the cylinder and "arranged for limited freedom ofm'otion 'relative. thereto, a supplemental switchactuated by the free motion of said I handle andf'adap'tedto close the actuating;

circuit of the electrically actuated switch when the handle is moved in a direction to close the resistance controlling switch, means to open the supplemental switch when said handle is moved in the reverse direction= before said cylinder is moved in either direction, means to lock said switch open, and means operable at the limit of reverse motion of said handle to release said locking means.

7. In an electric controller, the combination with a rotatable shaft, a handle con.- nected to rotate the s'haft'and arranged for limited freedom of motion relative thereto, an electric switch actuated by the free motion of said handle and adapted to be closed by. motion of the handle in one direction and to be opened by motion of the handle in the reverse direction before said shaft is moved in either direction, means to lock said switch open, and means operable at the limit of reverse motion of the handle to release said locking means.

8. In an electric controller, the combination with a rotatable cylinder, of a handle connectedto rotate said cylinder and arranged for limited'freedom of motion relative thereto, an-electric switch adapted to be actuated by the freemovement of said handle before" the cylinder? is moved in either direction.

In testimony whereof I'aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT R. DUNLOP.

Witnesses: V

HARRY O. DEAN, DUDLEYT. FISHER. 

